Toxic Fitness Declutter: A Guide

The year may be new, but are you still holding onto toxic fitness clutter that’s bogging you down? I know I was. What’s toxic fitness? Anything that makes you feel bad or prevents you from living the well-balanced healthy lifestyle you crave.

7 Toxic Fitness Items to get rid of ASAP

1. Clothes that don’t fit or make you feel bad. Clothes are meant to serve you, not bully you. If you have size X jeans that used to fit you but don’t right now, get them out of sight. If you view them as aspirational and don’t want to donate them just yet, that’s fine. Put them in a box or a suitcase in another room. Likewise, why keep sports bras that pinch or underwear that makes you feel frumpy or socks with holes in them? Your closet should only have clothes that make you feel awesome at your current season of life. I’m almost 50. I don’t need miniskirts for clubbing anymore.
2. Supplements and vitamins that taste bad or are expired. Check the expiration dates on your vitamins and supplements. Chances are at least one bottle needs to be tossed. When I did bodybuilding competitions and ran marathons, I’d literally get bags full of free samples of supplements and I never threw them away. I didn’t use them…I just kept them. Guess what? They’re gone now and I don’t even feel bad. You might think, “Well, I paid a lot of money for this.” But if it tastes bad, why keep it? If its not expired, ask your friend group if any of them want it. Or donate it.

   

3. Exercise equipment you don’t use. Treadmills only work if you walk or run on them. They should not be glorified coat hangers. If you aren’t using a machine, that doesn’t make you bad or lazy, it just isn’t the right machine for you in your current season of life. You can resell them on any number of sites – Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Ebay – to recoup some cost. Not only can you make a few bucks, you will also clear up some space in your home and get rid of an object that makes you feel bad. Win-win-win.
4. Water bottles. Often I wonder if the lids to my water bottles are hanging out in the laundry room with the random unmatched socks. Pull out all your water bottles, including kid water bottles if you have them, and match up the lids. Anything that leaks or doesn’t have a lid needs to get recycled (check your local recycling rules) or thrown away. Then ask yourself how many water bottles you and your family really need per person. Anything extra should be donated.
5. Old sneakers. Sneakers come in all specialties for running, weight lifting and wearing around the house, plus you probably have a pair or two for yard work or dirty jobs. But if you have stinky old shoes gathering dust, or shoes that make obscene farting sounds when you walk, or sneakers that hurt, please get rid of them. Depending on their condition you can donate, sell or throw them away so you only have shoes that feel and look good.
6. Junk food in your pantry. Why sabotage yourself? You might think, “but my husband wants chips.” Fine. Let him keep his stash in some secret shelf so you don’t have to see the bag of chips every time you make dinner. Take the junk food to your work break room and leave it for everyone else to snack on, or donate it to a local food bank.
7. Influencers who do not serve you. If you cringe every time a particular person’s updates come across your social media feed, unfollow them. Unsubscribe from sites that don’t give you useful information or make you feel unworthy. Only follow sites that make you smile.

Set yourself up for success by getting rid of things that make you feel bad. Life is too short to waste even a minute on stuff that no longer serves you.

Be healthy,

Lisa 😉

 

Here’s my story. Available on Amazon.

Copyright (c) Lisa Traugott 2024. All rights reserved.